How Many Words Is a 5-Minute Speech?
Updated 2026-10-28
At the conversational pace of 130 words per minute, a 5-minute speech is about 650 words. At a presentation pace of 120 words per minute it is 600 words. At a fast pace of 170 words per minute it is 850 words. Choose the pace first, then count the words.
The word count for a speech depends on two numbers: the minutes you must fill and the words per minute you speak. Multiply them. The table below does that for common speech lengths and for the four paces that most speakers use.
Words per speech length
| Length | 120 wpm | 130 wpm | 150 wpm | 170 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 min | 120 | 130 | 150 | 170 |
| 2 min | 240 | 260 | 300 | 340 |
| 3 min | 360 | 390 | 450 | 510 |
| 5 min | 600 | 650 | 750 | 850 |
| 10 min | 1,200 | 1,300 | 1,500 | 1,700 |
| 15 min | 1,800 | 1,950 | 2,250 | 2,550 |
| 18 min | 2,160 | 2,340 | 2,700 | 3,060 |
| 20 min | 2,400 | 2,600 | 3,000 | 3,400 |
| 30 min | 3,600 | 3,900 | 4,500 | 5,100 |
Each cell is the length in minutes multiplied by the pace in words per minute. A 5-minute talk at 130 words per minute is 5 times 130, which is 650 words.
The formula
words = minutes x words per minuteTo go the other way, divide the word count of your draft by your pace. A 900-word draft at 150 words per minute runs for 6 minutes.
Pauses take time that the word count does not show
A speech is not a continuous stream of words. The Speaking Time Estimator adds 0.5 seconds for every sentence. A 650-word draft with 45 sentences adds 22.5 seconds, so the talk runs about 5 minutes 22 seconds. That is still inside a 5-minute slot only if you started exactly on time.
Plan for the pause time. If your slot is exactly 5 minutes, write about 600 words at 130 words per minute and keep the extra 50 words as reserve.
Check the count of your own draft
- Paste the draft into the Word Count Tracker and read the word total.
- Divide the total by your pace from the pace guide.
- Paste the same draft into the Speaking Time Estimator and compare the two results.
If the two results differ by more than 30 seconds, your pace assumption is wrong for this text. Long sentences and technical terms slow a speaker down, because the speaker takes more breaths and makes more pauses.
Typical speech slots
- A 3-minute pitch at 130 words per minute is 390 words.
- A 5-minute talk is 650 words at the same pace.
- A 10-minute conference talk is 1,300 words.
- An 18-minute talk, the length of a TED talk, is 2,340 words at 130 words per minute.